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  5. Labor Power: Effects of Large Employers, the Presence of Unions and Trade
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Labor Power: Effects of Large Employers, the Presence of Unions and Trade

Paper Session

Sunday, Jan. 3, 2021 10:00 AM - 12:00 PM (EST)

Hosted By: Labor and Employment Relations Association
  • Chair: William E. Spriggs, Howard University

The Chinese Trade Shock and Union Membership and Employer Opposition

Nyanya Browne
,
Howard University
Bethel Cole-Smith
,
Howard University

Abstract

This paper uses the Chinese Trade Shock data of Autor, Dorn and Hanson merged with the Outgoing Rotation Group to capture information on union membership. It is coupled with data compiled by the Economic Policy Institute on employer opposition activities to union organizing. Looking at the industry level, the paper examines how the Chinese trade shock affected the decline in private sector union density and the intensity of employer opposition to union organizing activity.

The Chinese Trade Shock and Employer Concentration

Lucombo Luveia
,
Howard University
David Dongo
,
Howard University

Abstract

This paper uses the Chinese Trade Shock data of Autor, Dorn and Hanson merged with the Quarterly Workforce Indicator Census data to calculate employer concentration at the commute zone level. This paper explores the extent to which exposure to trade shocks from China affected the employer concentration and whether the incidence of local monopsony power increased at the commuter zone level because of trade.

Gender Differences and Food Sufficiency During the 2020 Pandemic

James Flowers
,
Howard University

Abstract

This paper takes advantage of the effect of industrial union formation in coal and steel industries as being exogenously determined to contrast where transit unions exist to determine the affect of unions on public transit safety. This parallels work done to examine the affects of healthcare unions.

Electoral Democracy at Work

Philippe Askenazy
,
CNRS-ENS-Centre Maurice Halbwachs
Thomas Breda
,
Paris School of Economics

Abstract

We show that a targeted institutional change introducing more competition for the provision of union services can have very large effects on unionization and employment relations. To this aim, we study a French reform that introduced electoral requirements for the representation of workers at the firm, industry and national levels in 2008, hereby putting an end to the oligopoly of representation held by five historical unions until then. Exploiting random variation in the application date of the reform across private sector workplaces with eleven or more employees, we find that it increased union membership by around 8 percentage points and employers' trust in unions by 45% of a standard deviation. The reform also increased workers' trust in unions and the prevalence of work stoppages in manufacturing. Together these results suggest that repeated free elections can be an efficient way to foster workers' participation in unions and their ability to voice concerns, while also making unions more legitimate bargaining partners for employers.
Discussant(s)
Naomi Williams
,
Rutgers University
Damon Jones
,
University of Chicago
Andria Smythe
,
Howard University
JEL Classifications
  • J5 - Labor-Management Relations, Trade Unions, and Collective Bargaining
  • J0 - General